Willis v. United States

666 F. Supp. 892, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7519
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Louisiana
DecidedJune 18, 1987
DocketNo. 85-2860
StatusPublished

This text of 666 F. Supp. 892 (Willis v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Willis v. United States, 666 F. Supp. 892, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7519 (W.D. La. 1987).

Opinion

OPINION

LITTLE, District Judge.

These findings of fact and conclusions of law result from a nonjury trial held on 11 May 1987.

FACTS

From 27 November to 4 December 1984 Granvil Gremillion was a patient at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Alexandria, Louisiana. At approximately 11:30 A.M., Mr. Gremillion was discharged from the hospital. On route to his home in Avo-yelles Parish, Mr. Gremillion collided head-on with an automobile driven by Jeffery Willis. Both Jeffery Willis and his passengers, Gregory Willis and Glen Jeansonne, suffered severe injuries. Gremillion was readmitted to the VA Hospital on 4 December and died on 8 January 1985 from the injuries received in the collision.

Upon his admission to the VA Hospital on 27 November 1984, Gremillion was described as a grossly obese 60-year old white male. He was 5'9" tall and weighed approximately 300 pounds. He complained of dyspnea or troubled breathing, and was diagnosed as having congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and marked obesity. During his stay in the VA Hospital he lost 26 pounds, attributed mostly to water weight. At discharge he was ambulating well without shortness of breath or the necessity for oxygen.1

On the morning of Mr. Gremillion’s discharge, he was seen by treating physician S. R. Admal at approximately 11:00. On the same morning, Gremillion was given two medications, Digoxin, which aids in the heart efficiency, and Lasix, a diuretic. Ad-mal warned Gremillion not to drive, due to the general condition of his health and his need for rest. Gremillion, according to Ad-mal, stated that his family would come to the hospital and transport him to Avoyelles Parish. Nothing further was offered by Admal who believed that Gremillion was not going to drive home. Evidence from Mr. Gremillion’s son, Jamie, who visited the deceased prior to his discharge from the VA reported that his father was alert. Moreover, the son evidenced no fear of driving with his father had that necessity occurred. To the same effect, Mrs. Gremil-lion communicated with her husband by phone on discharge day and she reported nothing unusual in his demeanor to indicate that he would have trouble driving. She [894]*894did report that Mr. Gremillion was eager to get home. The evidence weighs in favor of Mr. Gremillion being an aware, gregarious, caring individual. The Court believes that Dr. Admal advised Mr. Gremillion not to drive and that Mr. Gremillion advised the doctor that the Gremillion family was tending to the transportation. There is no reason, under the circumstances, for Dr. Ad-mal to doubt Mr. Gremillion nor should Admal have done more to get his message across.

Head Nurse Martha Branton testified about the VA’s discharge procedures. Mrs. Branton advised Gremillion of his follow-up doctor appointments, went over his prescriptions, and advised him to see the dietician for a specialized food plan. Grem-illion declined the dietary plan visit, stating that he was in a hurry to get home and that the recommended diet should be sent to him at his residence. A young man was with Gremillion during these instructions and that man, according to Branton, was Gremillion’s son. Branton left the room at approximately 11:35.

Considering Gremillion’s eagerness to check out of the hospital, it is reasonable to assume he left directly following his meeting with Nurse Branton. State Trooper Charles Rawson estimated that the drive from the hospital to the accident site would take no more than 20 to 30 minutes. Raw-son reported that the time of the accident was, however, 2:22 P.M. and no hypothesis has been advanced to account for Gremil-lion’s whereabouts during the lost 2 hours.

Jeffery and Gregory Willis testified as to the circumstances of the accident. Heading north on Highway 1, a two-lane highway, Jeff Willis noted a truck swerving into his lane. Hoping to avoid a collision, Jeff in turn moved into the other lane. The truck then swerved back into its own lane and Jeff did the same. Once more, however, the truck veered into the oncoming lane and although Jeff tried to avoid it, the collision was inevitable. The vehicles hit head-on near the center line. No evidence was presented as to Gremillion’s version of the accident although he lived for a month after the incident.

Jeffery Willis and Gregory Willis, who are brothers, and their passenger, Glen Jeansonne, have asserted claims against the United States in this consolidated case for the negligence of the VA Hospital under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2671, et seq. Jurisdiction is proper by virtue of 28 U.S.C. § 2674 and 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b). State Farm, as the liability insurer of both the Gremillion and Willis vehicles, has intervened in order to assert its subrogation claim for monies already paid to the plaintiffs under the insurance policies.

The plaintiffs pursued several theories in their quest to prove that the VA Hospital was responsible for the damages caused by Mr. Gremillion. They first argued that the combination of drugs given to Gremillion, namely Digoxin and Lasix, would compound in such a way to cause sleepiness or drowsiness. The plaintiffs’ case on this point remains unproven. The plaintiffs’ own expert witness in pharmacology, Lee Roy Morgan, M.D., testified on cross-examination that he believed the medication prescribed by the VA was appropriate. The medicine, in Morgan’s opinion, may exacerbate a patient’s propensity to doze off but Morgan did not conclude that the decedent had such a propensity.

The plaintiffs then sought to show that a blood test of a Gremillion specimen taken the morning of his departure and analyzed after he had departed revealed a blood sugar level so high that it could have caused him to fall asleep or black out. Dr. Admal testified that although the blood sugar level was somewhat high it was not at a danger level and that the notation on the lab slip indicating that the patient should be asked to return to the hospital for a repeat test was merely precautionary and did not indicate a dangerous condition. This was confirmed by the Government’s expert, Dr. Stephen Kilpatrick (Government exhibit 6). See also the deposition of Dr. John Wilson (Government exhibit 4). But even so, the test result was not known until after Mr. Gremillion absented himself from the VA. There is no evidence indicating that the testing was not diligently per[895]*895formed or that the test result should have been received prior to discharge.

Finally, there was an argument that Gremillion had Pickwickian Syndrome, a sleep disorder which occurs in obese individuals who have a history of cardiopulmonary problems. Simply put, the patient’s deep nocturnal sleep is interrupted by brief breathing stoppages, which cause the patient to awaken frequently. The lack of sustained deep sleep results in drowsiness and a tendency to doze or nod off during the day. However, plaintiffs brought forward no positive proof that Mr. Gremillion had Pickwickian Syndrome or, if he had it, that it was negligent not to diagnose or recognize that condition. Dr.

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Bluebook (online)
666 F. Supp. 892, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7519, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/willis-v-united-states-lawd-1987.